The Best Medicine
by Hanyou Hugger
Summary: The long bouts of rain in the Sengoku Jidai take their toll on Kagome. Inuyasha feels responsible and sulks in the woods. What's a poor, sick girl to do? Follow him, of course! IY/K


A/N: Waaah! Another story where I only have the beginning planned out! ^_^;;; I'm really surprised you all haven't stopped reading my stories and hunted me down and killed me. Unless of course... you have (minus the killing part). o_o;;; But this is mainly just fluff and is happier than the last story that I started (mmmm! possessed and evil Inuyasha! XD).  
  
And in my other HP/IY crossover I promised an oekaki picture awhile back... but now I have any actual oekaki board! I made it awhile ago and haven't really drawn on it, but I might get around to drawing some story-related pics on it eventually. And feel free to draw on it, whatever and whenever you please! XD Link time!  
  
http://w4.oekakies.com/p/hanyou/p.cgi  
  
Now finally onto the story! But first... I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters yadda yadda... Enjoy! ^_^  
  
  
  
The Best Medicine Chapter 1: Rainy Days  
  
  
  
Kagome was sick.  
  
The kind of sick that made you just want to curl up in a bundle of warm blankets and occasionally emerge from your toasty cocoon to sip at a cup full of steaming chicken noodle soup.  
  
But no, Kagome didn't even have any way to get a decent amount of hot water to pour into a cheap, paper cup of instant ramen. First of all, getting hot water would require finding a source of running water and firewood that hadn't been soaked by the endless bouts of rain. Second, all of her instant ramen had been eaten by a certain hanyou who currently was grumbling at her to hurry up and whining for not packing enough of his favorite snack.  
  
Kagome in response glared at him with her red rimmed eyes and proceeded to drag her once spotless shoes even more slowly through the mud along their uneven path. Her mother might kill her for ruining the fifth pair of shoes she had bought her this year, but, oh, was it worth it to see Inuyasha splutter in indignation from over his shoulder and furiously whip his head back towards the road. Not to mention when his long and still wet hair followed his example and whapped him across the face. That itself was well worth the coughing fit she had after a series of badly contained giggles.  
  
"Kagome-chan, are you alright?"  
  
Kagome found herself looking directly into the gaze of a very concerned demon exterminator. She hesitantly sucked in a few short breaths of air before trusting herself to reply, plastering a fake smile on her face after her coughs had subsided.  
  
"Ah! Sango-chan! I'm great! Better than--" Cough. Hack. "--ever...!"  
  
"Sango is right for her concern, Kagome-sama. Perhaps we should find a suitable place to rest for the evening before it begins to rain again."  
  
"No, really! We're almost back to the village and the well, anyway! I can just stop by home and rest for a day or two then!"  
  
Kagome and everyone else in the group eyed Inuyasha suspiciously and waited for him to offer any objections to her mention of 'home'. He merely paused for a moment and then stalked silently to the small group that was staying in their little huddle a few paces behind him. Miroku and Sango edged away quickly as he shot each of them a sidelong glare before stopping in front of the schoolgirl. Inuyasha flicked the small kitsune off of her shoulder, Shippou wailing as he climbed up the monk's robes and making faces at the hanyou from his perch. Kagome suddenly felt very raw and exposed.  
  
"Come on."  
  
And that was that. Inuyasha roughly and yet somehow carefully managed to pull the stunned girl onto his back while still shouldering her enormous backpack that seemed to dwarf its owner in comparison. He immediately resumed his pace leaving a somewhat surprised set of traveling companions behind. Miroku, Sango, and a restrained but still confused Shippou slowed their walk to a crawl after coming out of their stupor, Shippou gnawing on Miroku's head to tell him what was going on. A few high-pitched squeals could be heard from behind them as Inuyasha continued to carry Kagome at a brisk pace.  
  
"Ummm... Thank you, Inuyasha... And..." Kagome pulled back a few of the white strands still clinging to his wet face, wincing at the red mark gracing his cheek. "...Sorry... I didn't mean to laugh or make you--"  
  
"Forget it."  
  
"But--"  
  
"I said to forget it, ok?"  
  
She sighed and rested her head lightly against his damp shoulder, the coarse fabric meeting her forehead itchy but soothing to her heated brow. The last few days had been the wettest, muggiest, and dirtiest of her life. Kagome looked down at Inuyasha's arms wrapped around her legs, grimacing in disgust at the amount of mud caked onto her once clean socks that were hanging lifelessly around her ankles.  
  
The entire group had been wandering in search of anything worthwhile to do by having Shippou spin and then point, following the direction his tiny finger chose. They had hoped that through dumb luck they would find Naraku, maybe a Shikon shard or two, or even some big baddie to beat up on the random path they chose. But no, they had found only rain. Rain that decided to come when there were no conveniently located caves or villages around. Rain that could seem to penetrate whatever type of wimpy protection they could find. So Inuyasha had agreed to go back to Kaede's village and wait out the freak storms bombarding the area on the promise that he could choose the direction the group went next.  
  
So now Kagome was sick. The sleepless nights preparing for a trigonometry exam before the whole wet adventure probably hadn't helped the matter any. She could hear Shippou's wails that this was all Inuyasha's fault behind her, sniffling as he was forced to keep quiet by Miroku and Sango. But it really wasn't all of Inuyasha's fault. Sure, he had been the one to keep pushing the group forward after the first day of nonstop rainfall, but he hadn't known that it was going to keep raining. He was the one who had desperately tried to make some sort of shelter with the limited resources in the area, even if his attempts were wasted. And now he was here carrying her. He had no reason to be--  
  
"Sorry."  
  
Kagome snapped out of her dazed state because of the sheepish apology whispered into her ear. Was Inuyasha actually feeling...guilty? Only one way to find out...  
  
"W-what are you apologizing for?"  
  
"Don't ask stupid questions, idiot."  
  
She sighed again and resignedly resumed her position against his shoulder. She should have known that she wasn't going to get a straight response. But she did know that it was going to be a long time before they reached Kaede's village again.  
  
  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
  
  
"Has Inuyasha seemed to have been acting a bit edgy to you, houshi-sama?"  
  
"Whatever do you mean, Sango?"  
  
Miroku glanced back at the woman stoking the fire before he again looked outside at the pouring rain through the hanging screen that served as the door. She tossed a bundle of twigs into the flames before she threw the monk a frustrated glare.  
  
"Surely you've noticed, too! It's impossible not to notice his odd behavior!"  
  
"Sango..." Miroku leaned heavily against the frame of the door before dropping the flimsy screen, shaking a few stray droplets of water from his hand. "There is nothing that we can do that will improve his mood. It really is a simple matter that he will get through without our interfering."  
  
"But, Miroku-sama..." Kagome piped up from her position near the fire, Shippou sprawled across her lap. "Should he really have gone outside when it's raining like this?"  
  
As soon as the group had reached Kaede's village the rain had begun to pour again, drenching them as they neared the familiar hut. It was completely empty, the village miko most likely holed up in some other sick villager's home waiting for the rains to subside. Inuyasha had dumped Kagome inside, started a fire as their other travelling companions had entered the hut, and retreated back outside into the rain.  
  
"He just needs some time to think." Miroku took one final look outside before sitting down beside Sango by the fire, warming his hands next to the flames.  
  
"Think about what?! The only thing that idiot dog-boy can think about is food and fighting!!!" Kagome's hand stopped rubbing along Shippou's fluffy tail and rested on the soft fur as the kitsune finished his outburst. He glanced up worriedly as Kagome covered her mouth with her free hand and tried to contain a fit of coughs that racked her slight frame.  
  
"Shippou, Inuyasha is deeper than you believe he is. Even he needs some time to think every now and then." Miroku kept his gaze on the fire and rubbed his hands together to try to obtain some more warmth.  
  
Shippou pouted and snuggled deeper into Kagome's lap and was prepared to sulk until the girl in question gently placed him on the floor. The kitsune hurriedly scrambled into Sango's lap as the schoolgirl began to stand, and he watched her curiously as she retreated to the far corner of the hut, away from the fire and heat. The girl returned with a bright pink umbrella clutched tightly in her hands, and she hesitantly paused at the door as a gust of wind rattled the bamboo screen against the wooden doorframe.  
  
Sango jerked her face away from the fire and nearly scorched her long hair in the flames. "Kagome-chan? How can you be even thinking about going out there in your condition?!"  
  
"Sango-chan... That's why I have to go. I need to go back home so I can get some medicine and..." Kagome paused and gripped the umbrella more tightly. "...and I just have to go. I won't be gone long so don't worry! The well isn't that far away anyway! And I'll be fine as long as I have this umbrella that I left for Kaede-bachan, and I'm sure she won't mind if I use it--"  
  
Sango was about to protest, but Miroku held up his hand and silenced her. "Sango, do not worry. I trust Kagome-sama, and she knows how to take care of herself. Besides..." He glanced up at Kagome and gave a slight smirk. "I'm sure that even if Inuyasha happened to be sulking in the woods somewhere, he would not let any harm befall her."  
  
Kagome's cheeks were tinged pink as she brushed past the hanging screen and thrust open the umbrella. The group inside the hut could barely make out her coughs against the sound of the pouring rain and gradually returned their gazes to the fire.  
  
Sango reluctantly warmed her hands again and stroked Shippou before turning to the monk beside her. "Should we have let her go alone, houshi-sama? Really, if she's--"  
  
"I thought I said not to worry, Sango. The Goshinboku tree is not far away and I'm sure she can manage on her own."  
  
"Goshinboku...?" The demon exterminator nervously bit her lip and stopped petting the kitsune in her lap. "But I thought she said that she was just going to the well and--"  
  
Miroku gently tapped her nose and prodded the fire with one of the longer sticks. "She will go to the well eventually. But first she has to go see someone and cheer him up as always..."  
  
Sango felt her cheeks redden and didn't realize her mouth was hanging open until Shippou gently closed it for her.  
  
  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
  
  
Kagome slowly trudged her way towards the forest, which she guessed was the big, dark blob to her right. The curtains of rain made everything around her hazy, and she occasionally found her feet sinking into the villagers' rice patties. She pulled her leg out of another rice field and felt the mud sluggishly slide down her calf. Kagome managed to reach the forest after a few more near falls and grimaced as she looked down at the mud that caked her legs, socks, and shoes.  
  
"I don't think I'm going to ever be clean again..." She looked up just in time to avoid smashing into a large tree but stumbled and fell face first into muddy patch of grass. The girl picked herself up, readjusted her umbrella, and tried to wipe the mud from her eyes only to find that her sleeve was just as dirty. She gritted her teeth and continued her trek through the woods, squinting and trying to find a clean spot on her clothing. "Never, ever, ever again..."  
  
Kagome maneuvered herself through the forest and looked for the worn path leading to the Goshinboku that had been created by the many times she had walked there. Her muddy shoes squelched as she treaded along the barely noticeable path in the overgrown grass until the tip of her shoe connected with a long and gnarled tree root. She looked up and managed to catch a glimpse of red in the treetops and breathed a sigh of relief, quickly walking closer to the tree and not watching her feet... until she felt her right foot connect against something hard that sent bolts of pain through the rest of her leg.  
  
"Kyaa--!"  
  
Inuyasha glanced down from his high perch just in time to see Kagome land face-first on the ground. The obnoxiously bright thing she had been holding fell into a puddle a few feet away and splattered more mud onto it owner, decorating her ebony hair with specks of runny brown. He watched in shock for a moment before hopping down and pulling her up, forced to wipe the mud piled onto her face to be able to hear her mutters over the sound of the pouring rain.  
  
"Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever again..."  
  
She rubbed furiously at her eyes and grabbed the hanyou's red sleeve to rub the rest of the dirt from her face. Inuyasha gaped and looked down at his sleeve once she was finished and was about to make a snappy remark when she reached down and pulled her umbrella from the mud. Kagome then proceeded to open it directly in front of her and showered her friend with mud, sticking her tongue out before limping towards the trunk of the Goshinboku.  
  
"Now we're even!" She called over her shoulder and settled herself amongst the roots as Inuyasha finally regained his speech and ability to move.  
  
"Even?!" He stomped over and towered over the girl, drops of water from his hair falling onto her umbrella. "Even for what?!"  
  
Kagome snorted and pulled him underneath the umbrella by his dirty sleeve. "Even for making me fall in so many mud holes. You're lucky that's all you got..."  
  
Inuyasha blushed at their close proximity and quickly turned his head so she wouldn't be able to see the pink across his cheeks... not that she could from the amount of mud still clinging to her eyes. The frustrated sighs from the schoolgirl rubbing her eyes clean distracted him for a moment before he remembered that he had no idea what she was talking about.  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
Kagome stopped rubbing for a moment and looked as if she were contemplating an answer, until she gave an exasperated sigh and grabbed the hanyou's other sleeve and rubbed furiously at her face. She gave a muffled reply through the coarse fabric that made Inuyasha's ears droop back in guilt.  
  
"Do you know how hard it is to try to find someone in the rain? Especially when there are things like rice fields and mud puddles and...and...trees in your way?" The girl released his sleeve and clutched the dirty, metal handle of her umbrella more tightly. "Not to mention when you're getting sick..."  
  
Silence lapsed around the two for a moment and the gentle beating of the rain against Kagome's umbrella made her eyes droop. She snapped awake when the boy next to her snapped out a harsh apology.  
  
"I'm sorry, okay?!"  
  
She looked at him in bewilderment as he clutched his head and gritted his teeth. Kagome opened her mouth to say something but Inuyasha's mood suddenly deflated. He dropped his hands heavily beside him, his ears pressed as flat against his head as possible, and whispered more to himself than to the girl next to him, "I'm sorry, okay?"  
  
"...Inuyasha? What... what are you sorry for?" She instinctively scooted closer and patted his left hand reassuringly before covering her mouth with her free hand as she coughed violently. This didn't seem to help his mood any.  
  
"For what?! For...for THAT!!" Inuyasha yanked his hand from her grasp and crawled out from beneath the umbrella's protection. He immediately began to pace as the water poured over him and furiously began to shout over the rain.  
  
"I just can't do anything right, can I?! It's my fault that you're sick!! Mine!! I can't even protect you from a cold and now you go out looking for me just to get yourself even more--"  
  
He was going to continue his angry tirade but something warm was clutching his arm and was the only part of him not being showered in freezing droplets of water. Kagome had her head buried into his arms with her arms circled around his, her umbrella forgotten by the tree and being blown away by the wind.  
  
"Ka...gome? What--"  
  
"You idiot! Is this what you've been sulking about?!" She clutched his arm even closer to her, and he could feel her shiver as the rain continued to pour. "Do you really think that?! Do you really think that you don't protect me?! That's it's your fault?!"  
  
Inuyasha watched as her bare legs shook in the rain and tried to pull his arm free. "You shouldn't be out in this rain, Kagome!! Get back under the tree and--"  
  
She ignored him and dug her nails into the wet fabric curled beneath her fingers. "You're an idiot!! I'm not mad at you!!" He felt her grip slacken and caught the girl as she tumbled towards the ground and could barely make out her mumbled whisper. "...I'm not mad at you..."  
  
Inuyasha gently picked her up and ran towards the direction of the well, dodging the trees in his way and jumping over the puddles of water on the ground. He shook water out of his eyes and pledged not to stop running until the girl in his arms was safely tucked away in her bed. The hanyou glanced down at her and muttered to the prone form in his arms.  
  
"...I know you're not. I'm mad at me."  
  
  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~  
  
  
  
A/N: Was that too horrible? I actually like it... up to a point. But that's okay! As long as at least one person liked it so far I am happy! ^_^ And I know that the whole 'Kagome + sickness = fluff" idea has probably been overused. But it's still fun to take your own spin on these kind of stories every once in awhile. Review if you have any comments or criticism or can get me the new GC Zelda game before the end of March XD So much anticipation! Woo, I'm a dork! ^_^;;; 


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